


Ghosts of Loneliness

by Animercom



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Afterlife, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Post-New Dangan Ronpa V3, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25863244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animercom/pseuds/Animercom
Summary: After being executed in the Killing Game, Kiyo wakes up in a barren academy grounds. There he finds the person he killed: Angie Yonaga.A Kiyo and Angie, killer and victim, afterlife fic.
Relationships: Shinguji Korekiyo & Yonaga Angie
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	Ghosts of Loneliness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kirastrations](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirastrations/gifts).



> This is written for my friend, Kira, on her birthday! She requested a post KG fic in which Kiyo and Angie meet and talk so here is my take on it! Enjoy!

Kiyo cracked open his eyes. He stood on the trial grounds of Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles. 16 trial stands faced each other in a circle. Monokuma’s throne overlooked the scene, framed by stained glass windows.

But no one was there.

No trial stand-ins for Rantaro and Kaede or the other victims of the killing game. No Monokuma and or his Monokubs children. No one.

“Hello? Where is everyone?” Frowning, Kiyo gazed down at his hand. Held the hand to his chest. “Am I even still alive?”

Memories of his execution flashed before Kiyo’s eyes. Being tied up and hung from the ceiling. The Monokubs spinning him around and around. Being burned alive in a cauldron. His skin melting. And how after Kiyo died, Monokuma and the ghost of his sister threw salt at Kiyo, exorcising his ghost. Like he was an evil spirit that needed purifying.

Kiyo narrowed his eyes. _But Sister would never do that to me… Perhaps this is a dream._

“Shuichi? Maki?” After a moment, Kiyo tried, “Monokuma?”

His words echoed in the expansive room. Lapsed into deafening silence.

Kiyo swallowed. He closed his eyes. “Sister, are you there?”

Nothing. No voice answered him in his head.

Kiyo pulled down his mask and touched his lips. No lipstick. Kiyo went cold. _I am alone._

 _No!_ Kiyo balled his trembling hands. _No, I cannot be. The others must be around here somewhere. I only need to locate them._

Shoulders tense, Kiyo boarded the elevator. As the elevator ascended, it didn’t make any noise. No rattling, no hum of machinery – nothing. Simply glided upwards like a ghost.

The elevator doors opened to the courtyard. Kiyo stepped out. Scanned his surroundings. Daytime. No one around to be seen. The few stray clouds didn’t drift but remained in place as if painted against the sky. As if lifeless. Fake. There was no wind, no rustling of tree leaves. The air felt still. Stale.

The hair on the back of Kiyo’s neck rose.

Alongside the courtyard stood a dojo, Tenko’s lab. Kiyo frowned. _Does this imply that Tenko is present in the academy somewhere? No, I killed her. She should be with Sister now as one of her friends. So why am I not with Sister also…?_

The anthropologist checked all of the rooms in the dormitories building. Not a soul. Every door unlocked. All beds were made. Uniforms hung in the closet, waiting for someone. Not even a speck of dust anywhere. Kiyo shuddered. _How unnatural…_

After searching everyone’s rooms, Kiyo came to a stop outside the dorm entrance. Eyes narrowed, he held his chin. “Perhaps there is something within the books of my lab that can shed light on this particular situation.”

His footsteps echoed through the empty husk of the academy. With every staircase Kiyo climbed, the more his stomach fell. He reached the fourth floor. Darkness hovered over the hallways like an ominous storm cloud. The floorboards creaked. Walls were covered with inexplicable reddish stains reminiscent of blood. Jaw clenched, Kiyo traveled deeper into the school, eyes darting about. Upon reaching his lab, Kiyo reached towards the doorknob.

Someone hummed.

Kiyo froze. _A spirit is here. A ghost. I am not alone._ His breathing became ragged behind his mask. Sweat slid down his brow. _I should wait for it to initiate contact._ Gripping the doorknob, Kiyo strained to listen. The humming sounded feminine, carefree. Kiyo’s brows furrowed. _Could that be…?_

Kiyo bolted down the hall. Threw open the door to the artist’s lab.

A vision flashed before him. Angie’s corpse lying on the floor. Wax effigies of murdered classmates hanging upside down from the ceiling. Kiyo’s heart clenched. He shook the vision from his mind. Reexamined the room.

Splotches of black paint smattered the floor and walls. White pillars with black stripes stood along the lab’s sides. Strangely, tools and brushes were neatly stored in jars on tables. In life Angie had tools scattered all over the floor as she used them.

A voice broke the silence. “K-Kiyo? Is that you?” Angie stepped out from behind an easel. Her hands flew to her face.

Kiyo paled. Voice trembled slightly. “How…? How are you alive? I killed you.”

Angie flinched. Hugging herself, she stumbled back a step. “The last thing I remember is entering one of the rooms on this floor and finding you sawing a hole in the floor. I grabbed a candle to burn the Necronomicon, turned around, and…” Angie swallowed. Shook her head. “I wondered if you had…” Behind her bangs, her eyes flashed. “To commit such a grave sin as to kill Atua’s oracle!”

Kiyo tensed. Crouched slightly, readying himself to fight. _If necessary, there are any number of tools at my discretion I can defend myself with. It would be child’s play._

After a long moment, Angie exhaled. “It is Atua’s right to judge and punish, not mine. Even if I am really, super-duper angry, there isn’t anything I can do to bring me back to life. Coming to this place and meeting you… this must be Atua’s will. I must accept this trial with patience and courage.”

“Yes, what is this place?”

Shrugging, Angie raised her hands. “I dunno, I dunno! I thiiink I’ve been here for a long time but it’s hard to tell. I never got hungry or thirsty or needed to heed nature’s call! Nor have I slept or felt the littlest bit tired. An artist’s heaven!”

“Heaven you say?” Scoffing, Kiyo gestured to the walls. “Even in death we cannot escape this academy. How ironic. Cruel. This seems far more suited to purgatory or hell. That is, if you apply a Western Christian perspective, since we have not reincarnated as other beings like in Eastern religions.” Turning away, Kiyo pulled down his hat. _To be trapped here speaking to Angie instead of Sister…_ Kiyo muttered to himself, “Perhaps this is because of my mission. Surely the Christian God would not approve of me killing almost a hundred girls, if such a deity exists.”

Angie staggered back. “Kill one hundred girls? Mission? What are you saying? What happened after I died?” Angie narrowed her eyes. Spoke with a low edge to her voice. “Explain yourself, gentile. And do not lie or leave out even one little detail. Atua will know.”

Exhaling, Kiyo leaned against a table. “It’s a long story. The trial, my mission, my life with Sister…”

Angie folded her hands over her middle. “Atua has granted us an eternity.”

Kiyo bit his lip. _That may be true._ “Very well then. I suppose I should start at the beginning. My sister was very sickly. Spent her life in and out of the hospital. She fostered a love for anthropology within me and whenever I’d return from my travels, I’d relay tales of my journey to her…”

* * *

Angie sat Indian style on the floor, her hands folded. “I see, I see. After killing me, you killed Tenko, too. Oh, Himiko… Atua, please watch over and guide Himiko. Let her know she is not alone.” Lips moving, Angie continued to pray silently.

In the unnatural stillness of the academy, the building didn’t creak or groan. The only noise was their quiet breathing. Kiyo breathed in the smell of paint and wood.

Humming, Angie tapped her lips. “I have just one question.” Her eyes slid over to Kiyo, her gaze cutting like a knife. “Did your sister ask you to kill all those maidens?”

Kiyo gripped the brim of his hat. “I already explained to you. I could be my sister’s brother and lover but not her friend. So I thought I would make friends for her on her behalf–”

“So she never asked you to make friends. To steal lives.”

Kiyo clenched his jaw so hard it hurt his teeth. “My sister was lonely. She couldn’t leave the house to meet peers her age even if she desired to. She never asked for me to make friends specifically because she didn’t want to burden me but, naturally, she wanted–”

Exhaling, Angie cupped her cheek. “I am quite saddened to hear you have taken so many lives. Especially since, like, you’re the Ultimate Anthropologist who loves culture and humanity. Your sinful greed compelled you to rob families of their loved ones. There could be many, many brothers of your victims who loved their sisters just like you do.”

Kiyo’s whole body trembled. “My love for my sister has _no_ equal–!”

“But, but! An anthropologist loves all human cultures equally, yes? All of human life is sacred. And yet you placed the will of your sister over everyone else.”

“And is that not what you do every time you speak Atua’s name?”

Angie stilled. Face blanked.

Kiyo smirked. Like a snake he crept towards her at a leisurely pace. “You claim Atua is a loving and benevolent god. But did this god tell you to prey on everyone’s fears and manipulate them to join your little student council? To form a cult?”

“Atua willed we live in peaceful harmony on campus under his guidance–”

Hands behind his back, Kiyo circled around her. “And now you are dead and Himiko, who so heavily relied on you, must face the killing game alone. Her dependence on you will be her undoing. And is this not the same stratagems you use on your fellow islanders? Such as the time you held a weeklong festival on a whim. To get attention.”

“How dare–”

Kiyo towered over Angie like a looming shadow. He hissed, “You are nothing but a lonely child. A child who bullies others into playing with you using your imaginary friend of a god.”

Beneath her bangs, Angie’s eyes flashed. “Have you no faith in anything? Is nothing sacred to you?”

“Nothing. Nothing, save my sister and my mission. For stating otherwise, you should apologize–”

“Then your sister is your god. But do not dare to compare a mortal to the almighty divinity that is Atua. He exists and will smite you where you stand–”

Kiyo grabbed Angie’s jaw and lifted it. He gestured to the empty husk of the academy. “Then where is Atua now?!”

Angie paled. Sweat slid down her face. Closing her eyes, she swallowed. Gazed evenly at Kiyo. “Atua is with me always. I will not fear anyone even in the snares of death– Hrngh!”

Snarling, Kiyo seized Angie’s neck. Choked her. “Oh, spare me the martyr act!” He screamed in her face, “Admit that your god has abandoned you! Admit it!”

Angie’s face twisted. She raked her fingers across his face, drawing blood. Hissing, Kiyo loosened his grip. Angie tore off Kiyo’s mask. Screamed, “Where is your sister?!”

Kiyo froze. A vision of his sister’s ghost throwing salt at him flashed before his eyes. How she smiled. “She…”

Kiyo’s grip on Angie slackened. Coughing, Angie collapsed to the floor. Her painting easel noisily crashed to the ground. Hunched over, Angie wheezed for breath.

His execution replaying in his mind, Kiyo stumbled back a step. He mumbled, “My sister is inside me. I am never alone or lonely.” _But I cannot hear her voice here. And she exorcised me… but Sister would never! So why…?_

Angie heaved for breath on all fours. Her heavy breathing echoed in the artist’s lab. Sweat plipped to the floor. She crawled to a nearby pillar in the back of the room and sat against it. Tilted her head back against the pillar. Closed her eyes. “You’re right.” Angie’s quiet voice carried in the room. She gripped Kiyo’s mask that she still held. “I left Himiko to face the game of death alone. And in our time together I had Himiko rely on me instead of making her strong. That weeklong festival I held on my island messed up everyone’s lives. That couldn’t have been Atua’s will.” Grimacing, Angie balled Kiyo’s mask. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes. “I was wrong. Forgive me, Atua. Watch over and guide Himiko and the islanders.”

Kiyo shook his head. _Praying to a fictional god will not–_

“But even if I made mistakes, Atua still exists.” Angie’s intense gaze could have burned holes in Kiyo. “Even though I don’t know what Atua’s will in bringing us here is, I will keep moving forward.” Head bowed, Angie laid a hand on her chest. “Whenever I was sad or tired and wanted to give up, I heard a voice within me. Telling me that I’m stronger than I think, I can do better next time, and to keep moving forward.” Angie smiled up at him. “That’s Atua. When you wanted to give up, did you ever hear a voice like that?”

“A voice?” Kiyo gazed down at his bandaged arms. Pulled back a few rolls of the bandages. Scars lined his arm.

Kiyo flashbacked to him sitting on the edge of a hotel bed. Lights off, he sat in near darkness. Blood splattered across his clothes. Kiyo unwound the bandages on his arms. Scars lined his arm like a ruler. With dull eyes, Kiyo raised a knife. Exhaling, Kiyo’s head lulled forward. _I’m so tired. If only I could rest just a moment…_

_Does Sister really want this? Would she really want me to feel this pain? I’m just so exhausted… I want to stop._

Kiyo jerked. _No. I must. For Sister._

Grimacing, Kiyo sliced the knife across his arm.

_But every time it hurts more._

Kiyo traced a finger over a scar. “An encouraging inner voice? How curious,” he murmured. _I only had doubts._

 _No! I mustn’t waver!_ Kiyo balled his fists so hard his nails tore his bandages and skin. “My sister’s spirit said she was happy with my mission! Overjoyed! She was no longer lonely with so many friends.”

Angie tapped her chin. “Your love of anthropology comes from your sister, right, right? Then how would you and your sister answer this? Do you think sharing stories of different cultures could better people?”

Kiyo blinked. “I… Well, naturally of course. Sharing tales of different cultures could lead to an enhanced mutual understanding of each other. The morals within one culture’s folktales could become widespread and assimilated into other people’s lifestyles.”

Angie stood and folded her hands like a Buddha statue. “On your journeys instead of killing girls and erasing a bit of culture, imagine being a super cool storyteller! Instead of passively studying peoples, you could have helped spread an appreciation and love for the beauty of all people!” Angie raised her hands high above her head. “A new divine purpose! Nyahaha!”

Lips parted, Kiyo stared. _I must admit I missed sharing my tales with Sister after she died. She was still inside me seeing what I saw, but such an experience was not the same as telling someone. Laughing with another person over some tea._ _To be able to talk to someone again…_ A lump formed in Kiyo’s throat. “A storyteller, you say. That sound edifying. Fulfilling.”

Hands behind her back, Angie approached Kiyo. She gazed up at him. “And if your sister wasn’t sick would she travel and kill people? Or would she tell them stories?”

Kiyo’s stomach churned. “Sister covered in blood? Hurting herself by cutting her arms? Never! I would never desire or imagine that!”

Angie smiled. “And your sister who loves you just as much as you love her wouldn’t want you to either.”

Eyes wide, Kiyo’s mouth hung open. “That’s…” The lab felt like it was spinning. Vision blurred. He staggered. “But the sister inside me wanted – No, her actual ghost threw salt at me as though she beheld me as an evil spirit. Then that means…” Kiyo sank to his knees. His eyes stung. Voice choked. “I was wrong. Sister would have desired me to… I should not have…! All this pain and loneliness…!” Squeezing his upper arms, Kiyo bowed over. He sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. “What am I supposed to say to Sister?”

Angie sat down before Kiyo. Stroked Kiyo’s head. “There, there. You aren’t alone anymore. Atua – I am here with you.”

Angie craned her head back and closed her eyes. Smiled. Her body started to fade. Became transparent. Specks of light appeared. “And though we don’t have a future anymore, when we see Atua and your sister after this we can tell them what we learned.”

Kiyo clutched his head. “Yes… There are so many people I must face.” Sparks of light floated around his fading form. 

Angie thread her fingers through his hair. “Everything will be all right. I’ll be with you, okay? And this time I’m gonna support someone else instead of putting myself on a pedestal.”

“Forgive me for ending your life.”

“You may have taken my life but I’m also a little bit glad I’m with somebody. I’m not alone. And we’ll never be ever again.”

In a twinkling of light Kiyo and Angie faded away. The specks of light danced for a moment before they too winked out.

**Author's Note:**

> Since this is a birthday fic for my friend, I include some ideas and hcs of hers within the story such as the idea that Kiyo cuts himself to count ever girl he's killed and that Kiyo's Sister is his god. Thank you Kira for beign such a great friend! I wish you all the best!! 
> 
> And thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. ^_^


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